Red Sox Legend Responds After Being Linked to Gambling
When it comes to baseball profiles, Pete Rose appears to not have any similarities to David Ortiz.
Rose was a contact hitter who played all across the diamond and never spent one game as a designated hitter. Ortiz was one of the greatest sluggers of his era and played over 2,000 games at designated hitter.
But a recent book links Ortiz to a gambler, and betting on baseball is what led Rose to be permanently banned from the game.
Former Red Sox security agent Eddie Dominguez is the author of “Baseball Cop: The Dark Side of America’s National Pastime,” in which he alleges that a close friend of Ortiz’s, nicknamed “Monga,” bet on games regularly in the 2005 season, including bets against the Red Sox.
Monga, who was a frequent guest in Boston’s clubhouse at the time, was eventually banned from the locker room, and Ortiz wasn’t happy about it, according to the book.
However, the gambling issue continued, Dominguez wrote, and Monga took the field with Ortiz before the 2006 All-Star Home Run Derby.
After the All-Star Game, MLB security chief Kevin Hallinan called a meeting with manager Terry Francona, Dominguez and Ortiz, and went through all the allegations, according to the book. The slugger said it was all a lie.
While Dominguez didn’t explicitly say that Ortiz had any knowledge or involvement in his friend’s bets, Ortiz hit back Thursday and denied any link to gambling.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnHSMgvDBpt/?taken-by=davidortiz
“I wasnt gonna comment on this episode,” he said in an Instagram post, “but someone outta nowhere once again try to diminish my image just to sell a couple books… MLB do a hell of a job letting us know as a player the importance of NOT betting on baseball…especially after pete rose.
“If i had been involved in anything related to gambling in 2005, my career wouldn’t have ended in 2016….MLB woulda gotten rid of me ASAP, cuz MLB don’t play that!!!!”
Dominguez went on WEEI-FM’s “Kirk & Callahan” show in Boston this week to discuss the book, but said he had no proof that would indicate Monga used any information from Ortiz for bets. The only link between the two was a close friendship.
The Red Sox did not address the allegations in Dominguez’s book, instead deferring to MLB, which issued a statement:
“Major League Baseball actively cooperated with a law enforcement investigation into the illegal gambling operation that took these alleged bets. Ed Dominguez reported to his superiors at MLB that that investigation, which led to multiple arrests in 2008, did not implicate any players.”
Pete Rose was permanently banned from baseball in 1989 amid accusations that he bet on the game dating back to when he was a player.
While many people have been banned from baseball at one time or another, most of them were later reinstated. Rose is the only living former player to remain on the ineligible list.
Ortiz walked away from the game on his own after the 2016 season, citing numerous injuries. His 38 home runs during that year are the most by any MLB player in his final season.
Despite rumors that he could return to the Red Sox, Ortiz is content in retirement and has started the next chapter of his life.
The TV show “Big Papi Needs a Job” premiered this year on Fusion, and it chronicles the former slugger seeking out new jobs and opportunities.
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